Chapter 9: Back and Better Than Ever
"Long time, no see girls. I've missed you…"
The girls stared dumbfounded at Mojo Jojo, who was clearly amused by their confusion. None of them could find anything to say. That was because they were in a state of complete shock.
After all, anybody would be shocked at seeing their worst enemy, who they presumed to be MIA (or even dead) for a long time, standing right in front of them.
Finally, one of them responded, that person being Buttercup.
"What the FUCK?!" she yelled.
Normally, both Blossom and Bubbles would have scolded Buttercup for cursing. But, they couldn't really do that when they were thinking the exact thing.
Mojo frowned, his smile still on his face. "Hmm… that's a weird way to say 'Nice to see you aren't dead, Mojo'."
Blossom glared. "What- Why are you here, Mojo Jojo?! Better question: HOW are you here?"
"Yeah! And how are you not dead?!" Bubbles added.
Mojo's eyes glinted with malice as his smile faded into a sneer. "I can ask you girls the same thing."
Before the girls could reply, Mojo spoke again as he started to pace slowly.
"I have to say, girls… I'm hurt. Not once in all of these months, while you were gallivanting around doing God knows WHAT, going to high schools and having the time of your lives, did you ever stop to wonder how I was doing. How I managed to scrape by this GRUESOME year. I've done things that I'd NEVER thought I'd be doing, seen things that I should've never seen. Not to mention I was… kidnapped more times than I cared to admit."
Mojo stopped walking suddenly, his eyes growing angrier.
"Like, for instance, did you know that when I came here, I had to spend SIX MONTHS in jail?! Just because I conveniently crash-landed into a building when I fell from the sky? I was charged with destruction of private property, resisting arrest, and aggravated assault! ON MY FIRST DAY!
"And don't even get me STARTED on how I found out you girls were here. It was through a news report airing on some shitty jail TV, and they were talking all about 'the wonder girls' who had fascinating 'Quirks' that no one has ever seen before. They talked about you for days, glorifying and praising your skills. While I rotted away in a jail cell, not hearing ONE mention of the great Mojo Jojo! Do you know how TERRIBLE that feels?!"
The girls were quiet, staring at Mojo. They didn't know how to feel. Angry, guilty, and annoyed seemed like the best emotions to describe what they were feeling. Obviously they didn't like Mojo Jojo, considering the countless times they clashed and fought. But, seeing their archnemesis recounting the days he spent alone and confused sparked a feeling of what could only be described as pity inside of them.
That is, until Mojo talked again.
"The only reason I was able to become free was when strange Villains busted in my prison and freed virtually every Villain there, including myself. They gathered us all together because they wanted us to join their army to take down All Might. And, believe it or not, they specifically wanted me. ME! Apparently they found out what a great scientist I am, and they wanted me to modify their monsters. But, do you know what the best part of it was? They promised me my chance of revenge. Which is why, girls…"
Mojo then grinned evilly as he took out multiple bombs.
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"
The girls' eyes widened, as Mojo threw the bombs. Quickly, they flew out of the way just as the bombs exploded. Without hesitation, they swooped down towards Mojo with anger-fueled vigor. But, in a blink of an eye, Mojo dodged, letting them fly past.
Suddenly, his armored boots began to shake and Mojo jumped up. Streams of fire and smoke emerged from the bottom of them, propelling Mojo into the air. This caused Mojo to fly towards Blossom, who he seized by the shoulders, taking her with him.
"BLOSSOM!" Bubbles and Buttercup shouted.
Blossom gritted her teeth, as her hands grabbed Mojo's arms. Pink energy blasted out of them, causing Mojo to reel back and let go. Once he did, Blossom landed a strong roundhouse kick on his stomach, sending him flying. Once he reached Bubbles and Buttercup, they each grabbed one of his arms, trapping him.
Blossom landed in front of a struggling Mojo, glaring daggers at him.
"That's enough, Mojo Jojo. You obviously don't know what you're doing. So stand down."
Even though it was clear that he was frustrated, Mojo grinned maliciously.
"Is that so?"
At that moment, his outstretched hands began to glow red. Before any of the girls could react, a large red-colored energy blast shot out of Mojo, sending the girls flying. As they landed on the ground, the girls flinched, as their bodies were now covered in the red energy.
Mojo flexed his fingers with an evil chuckle. "Amazing, isn't it? A suit of armor that dispels energy that can both damage the target and weaken the target's powers. As insufferable as those Villains are, they do have the best materials available to make marvelous technology."
After he said that, Mojo flew towards the girls, readying another attack. But just then, the energy on Buttercup faded, restoring her powers, which allowed her to force Mojo back with a green fire blast. Clearly enraged, Buttercup jetted after Mojo as he flew through the air from the blast, grabbed him, and threw him into the ground at full force.
"Too bad that stupid ploy of yours is temporary." Buttercup sneered.
But just then, another red energy blast came from Mojo, forcing Buttercup back several feet. Quickly, Mojo got up and threw a bomb at Buttercup, which hit its mark, making her roll away and stop at Bubbles's and Blossom's feet.
"BUTTERCUP!" Bubbles gasped, distressed.
After a few seconds, Buttercup's eyes fluttered open halfway, a pained expression on her face.
"So, that's what a bomb feels like." she whispered.
Blossom knelt beside Buttercup, studying her before saying, "I think the energy doesn't just deplete us of our powers. It weakens our invincibility too."
As her eyes filled with tears, Bubbles glared and looked up at Mojo, who was readying to throw more bombs.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, MOJO!"
Before Blossom or Buttercup could stop her, Bubbles ran towards Mojo. As she did, she stuck out her right hand, and blue energy swarmed it, slowly forming into a large bubble wand. Once it fully formed, Bubbles leapt up into the air, just as Mojo threw the bombs at her.
With an angry grunt, Bubbles swung the wand hard. Tiny bubbles flew from it, speeding towards the bombs with the same speed as bullets. Before the bombs could even get close, the bubbles tore them apart in a harmless puff of smoke. Not long after, Bubbles emerged from the smoke, aiming a blow at Mojo's head with the wand.
But before she could land the attack, Mojo jumped away, his speed enhanced by the rocket boots. As Bubbles landed, Mojo stuck out his palms, firing balls of the crippling red energy. Bubbles was able to dodge most of them, but eventually one hit her hand.
When it did, a pained yelp came from Bubbles as her hand inadvertently dropped the bubble wand, which evaporated as soon as it hit the ground. The red energy slowly spreaded from her hand to her wrist, as Bubbles watched it with horror.
"BUBBLES! GET BACK!" Blossom shouted.
As she heard the warning, Bubbles looked up just in time to see a bomb flying right towards her. But it was too late to move, and the bomb hit her head on, sending her flying back into Blossom's arms.
Blossom stared at her sisters in fear and shock, as they tried their best to get up. Buttercup was sitting upwards now, but still clutching her sides and gritting her teeth in pain. Bubbles was crying as she tried to soothe her injured hand. And while all of this happened, Mojo Jojo stalked ever closer, with an evil grin on his face.
"And then, there was one." Mojo mused before chuckling, "I gotta say, I'm disappointed. I expected more of an ass beating from you girls. But, I guess I should thank you for holding back. Really shows that you care about me. Too bad it's not the same vice versa."
Blossom slowly looked up, shaking with rage. "What is wrong with you, Mojo? Even after everything that happened, even after landing in a world that is not your own, you're still stuck in your ways. Working with Villains, terrorizing people, plotting to KILL someone? When will you see that this is wrong?! When will you see that these people, these new Villains, are MANIPULATING you?!"
A look of malice crossed Mojo's face as he chuckled again. "I appreciate the concern, Blossom. But, you're WRONG. I couldn't care LESS about these people, nor do I care about their hero. The only thing I care about is the fact that this world is much more advanced than our own."
Blossom narrowed her eyes, confusion growing on her face. "What are you talking about?"
Mojo stuck out his hands. "Don't you SEE?! This world is at its prime. The technology, the resources… it's all more advanced than anything I ever witnessed. It makes the state of our world look like the crap it is! Imagine what a powerful overlord can DO with this place! Imagine what I, Mojo Jojo, can do if I rule it! But to rule, one must play a metaphorical game of chess. One must use what is given to them, and use it to their advantage to win. That is simply what I am doing."
As the words registered, Blossom wanted to punch that stupid monkey in his face. So this is what Mojo Jojo wanted all along. To manipulate his way to the top and to toy with his allies to get what he wants, while not caring about who or what stands in your way. That is such a classic Mojo Jojo move.
But, despite the anger-provoking proclamation, Mojo saying that did wonders. Not just because it let Blossom know that Mojo hasn't changed a single bit, but also because it killed any remaining sympathy left in her.
Which was why Blossom grinned to herself, for she was now excited to kick this fool's ass.
Before Mojo could react, Blossom sprang at him, throwing him back with a single punch. With a gasp, Mojo skidded on the ground, completely shocked by the sudden attack. But, Blossom made sure to not let him breathe, as she followed up with a pink energy blast.
It was after recovering from that energy blast that Mojo was able to attack, throwing energy attacks of his own, with Blossom dodged with a succession of fluid and graceful maneuvers. As she dodged, her eyes locked onto Mojo's hands as they continued to let out periodic red pulses.
Mojo had said that his suit was capable of producing the energy. So, it was natural that getting the suit would deactivate the red energy, and render it useless. She just had to get close enough to land a good hit on it, preferably between the eerily red glowing circle engraved on the armor's chest.
So when she was done dodging, Blossom raced towards Mojo in the blink of an eye, and thrusted her palm hard into the monkey's chest. The force of the attack sent Mojo flying into a building, his momentum slowing as he rolled on the ground. Blossom then propelled herself into the air, readying an energy blast just in case the force palm didn't do much.
But as Mojo got up, he was laughing maniacally.
"I'll admit, it's impressive how you found out how the red energy was being generated, Blossom. It is NOT, however, an unpredictable move on your part, considering that I prepared for the scenario in which you try to take this power away from me!"
With that, Mojo spread his hands out to the side. And before Blossom could react, he started to shimmer with a red aura. His cape flickered back and forth in an unseen wind. And to Blossom's shock, the cape seemed to fall apart.
With a start, she realized what Mojo's precaution was. It wasn't merely a cape made of fabric. It was made from some sort of nanotech, as trails of nanobots covered the suit, fortifying it in a translucent silver shell and therefore protecting the huge weak spot on Mojo's chest.
Quickly, Blossom threw the pink projectile at him. Without batting an eye, Mojo caught the blast and glanced at it with amusement before grinning maliciously and throwing it back, brandishing it with his own red energy.
It hit Blossom head on, as she fell to the ground on her feet. But she could barely recover, as Mojo sprang at her with his rocket boots, taking her in his bone-crushing arms. With a great heave, Blossom pushed away, her strength weakened by the energy, but that only allowed Mojo to grab her wrist, spin her around, and throw her into the ground.
"Tried to kick my ass, did you?" Mojo taunted, as Blossom crawled to her knees with some difficulty, "A piece of advice. Try harder, will you? I'm starting to pity you."
To cement his statement, Mojo put an armored boot on Blossom's back and pressed her down to the dusty ground. As she groaned, Blossom looked ahead, wincing.
There goes my rib.
"Come on. Get up." Mojo goaded. He was loving this. "If you can't face me, you can't HOPE to face what's ahead."
Blossom scrunched her eyes closed, as she screamed in anger. Why WAS this so hard for her? She should be the one digging her foot into Mojo's rib cage and pinning him down. And to think there were worse villains out there, fighting her currently helpless classmates. She needed to finish this.
"I guess that just shows me…" Mojo mused, lessening the pressure of his foot off her back, "You really have gone soft–"
Suddenly, Mojo was silenced by a loud BANG. And the complete removal of pressure off of Blossom, and the lessening amount of red energy on her skin told Blossom that maybe she wasn't so doomed after all.
Blossom got up and whirled around to see Buttercup herself standing over a stunned Mojo, gold hammer in hand.
"After all this damn time," Buttercup huffed, "You STILL talk too much."
Mojo got up quickly, rubbing his head in fury and pain. "WHY YOU–!"
As he got up and lunged for her though, Bubbles swooped in and threw a hook punch straight between Mojo's jaw, throwing him to the side.
"And THAT'S what you get for hurting my sisters AND my hand!" she shouted.
Blossom's eyes lit up. She wanted to hug her sisters and thank them profusely for saving her. But as she saw Mojo get up slowly in the corner of her eye, she realized that she had to beat this guy first.
Quickly, Blossom moved to stand beside her sisters, as they got into fighting positions.
"Okay, girls. So far, we've been going at Mojo one at a time. Why don't we switch it up and go all together. No mercy?"
Bubbles and Buttercup looked at Blossom with determined eyes. "No mercy!"
And so, when Mojo finally got up, he was swiftly attacked by all three girls. With a slam of her hammer, Buttercup sent Mojo flying into Bubbles, who kicked him in the stomach and toward Blossom, who grabbed the back of his neck and threw him down into the ground on his side.
Shaking in rage and slight fear, Mojo raised a hand charging with red energy. But, Blossom simply smirked wickedly.
"Not THIS TIME!"
Using two fingers, Blossom pressed hard into Mojo's chest, breaking the nanotech barrier with no problem and hitting the weak spot of the armor even harder than she had before. His own breath left Mojo instantly as he sputtered (he would've been flying if Blossom didn't have a hold on him), and the red circle slowly stopped glowing and went black.
It was only after it did when Blossom let him go. Mojo scrambled to sit up, gasping for air, as the Powerpuff Girls stood in front of him. After catching his breath, Mojo shared yet another gleeful smile.
"Oh, you think that since you stopped my suit from creating energy that I would be defenseless! You clearly forgot about my BOMBS!"
After he said that, Mojo reached down for his belt, only to realize with shock that it wasn't there.
"HUH?!"
With an innocent smile, Bubbles slowly held up the silver belt.
"No we didn't. Did you SERIOUSLY not notice that your belt mysteriously went missing when you blasted me away? Or that it was strangely absent when you fought Blossom?" Bubbles asked.
She then took out a bomb, and to Mojo's terror and shock, popped it into her mouth and began to eat it.
"Mmm. I gotta admit, these are pretty weak when they're not activated. So much so that they can be eaten as a great substitute for jawbreakers!"
Mojo Jojo stared at the Powerpuff Girls, who were now looking at him with accusatory glares, before slowly laughing and getting up. Only, this laugh was forced, as if he was trying to be friendly to avoid a beatdown. Which was exactly what he was doing.
"Um, girls? Have I ever told you that I love you and that I would NEVER try and hurt you—"
Mojo didn't get to finish before Buttercup swiftly kicked him between the legs, causing him to seize up and fall to his knees. As Mojo squeaked and made weird sobbing noises, Blossom and Bubbles looked at Buttercup with awe and pride, which made the latter shrug.
"What? Someone had to do it." she said simply.
"Well, thank you. You're doing God's work!" Bubbles exclaimed.
"Bubbles!" Blossom gasped, although she was in a fit of giggles.
Mojo shook his head, as big tears rolled down his cheek. "You guys are CRUEL."
After he said that, Blossom turned towards him, a big smile on her face.
"You know what, Mojo? You were right. I don't know HOW we were ever losing to you. No offense, but you're kind of nothing without the suit to help you."
Mojo glared. "You laugh now, girls. But soon, you won't be. In case you've forgotten, there's villains worse than I am out there as we speak, waiting to tear you apart. I'm just the first act."
Buttercup scoffed. "More like the prologue."
"No, more like a mini sneak peek!" Bubbles added, giggling.
"We'll be fine. Thank you for your concern." Blossom said, throwing Mojo's own words back at him, "Considering the possibility that a clown like you managed to coerce them in your plan of 'world domination', I'm convinced we're not dealing with a bright bunch. So while we're out saving our classmates and having decent morals, you…"
Before finishing, Blossom called up her Hyper Yoyo and threw it at him. The yoyo then wrapped around Mojo, the string binding his limbs together and trapping him. Blossom finally tied the yoyo into a bow and looked up at him with a stern glare.
"... will stay here. We'll come back for you when we're finished. Or better yet, Pro Heroes, who are WAY more merciless than us, will come for you."
Without sparing another word, the girls backed up and activated their flight, flying away from the Ruins Zone, as Mojo shouted after them.
"TRY AS HARD AS YOU WANT, GIRLS! YOU CAN'T SAVE EVERYONE! AND YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO SAVE YOURSELVES!"
Chapter 10: Nightmare Nomu Fuel
"Hey, CHUMPS! TAKE THIS!" Buttercup shouted.
After she said that, she launched herself off the ground a few feet into the air before coming down hot and thrusting her fists into the ground. This caused the earth below to split open and for pieces of rock and ground to jut out, which sent some nearby goons flying in a concentrated earthquake.
The girls had moved on from the Ruins Zone to the Landslide Zone in the USJ, to simultaneously look for help and to look for their classmates. With its steep slopes and vast terrain, the girls had plenty of space to work with when it came to beating up villains. Which is part of the reason why they were doing great at fighting.
As the villains hit the ground unconscious, Blossom looked over from her battle (she was holding a beat up villain by his shirt collar) with some worry and alertness.
"Buttercup! Be careful!" she scolded.
Buttercup looked over, incredulous. "Oh, COME ON! You act like these bozos are capable of landing a hit on me! I'm more likely to get hurt by tripping over a PEBBLE than by getting hurt by an attack from one of these guys!"
"No! I mean, your attack left a few goons standing. Be more thorough with your followthrough." Blossom casually replied.
Buttercup glanced over just in time to see two villains running towards her with knives at the ready.
"Oh. Thanks!" she said before stomping hard on the ground, shaking it enough to send the two goons falling flat on their faces.
"No problem." Blossom answered as she punched the villain just as he started to lift his hands towards her face.
Bubbles, meanwhile, was waving her wand around elegantly, as villains left and right got trapped inside her indestructible bubbles.
"Stay in there, okay? We don't want you killing our friends!" Bubbles chided gently whenever she passed a bubble with a seething villain.
Once all of the villains in their area were cleared, Blossom shouted over to Bubbles.
"Do you see any of our classmates, Bubbles?" she called.
Bubbles shot a thumbs down. "No! All I see are villains and more villains!"
Buttercup groaned. "Ugh, this is taking forever! WHY did the villains have to go and attack today?! We could've been doing cool rescue exercises instead of this, and yet here we are!"
"Well, technically we are doing rescue exercises. We're saving our class from villains! I bet Mr. Aizawa will give us extra credit since it's all real." Blossom pointed out.
Bubbles slowed for a moment, looking a bit worried.
"Speaking of Mr. Aizawa, I wonder if he's doing alright. I hope the villains aren't winning." she sighed.
Blossom and Buttercup slowly walked over, sharing a knowing glance. It was no doubt that Bubbles liked the Class 1-A teacher. They did too. He was really the only person they talked to consistently the whole time they were here in this reality, and the one who used to check on them every day in that ten month period. And despite his detached behavior, he did care about them and their classmates. They would hate it if anything bad were to happen to him.
"He'll be fine, Bubs. I mean, with a power that can completely cancel other powers?! HAH! He's probably wiping the FLOOR with them as we speak!" Buttercup encouraged.
Bubbles looked up, smiled, and nodded. "Yeah, you're right!"
Just then, the girls heard a strange sound a short distance up ahead. It sounded almost like ice. As the sound stopped, they looked at each other.
"Classmates? Or Villains?" Bubbles asked.
Buttercup punched her fist into her other hand with a mischievous smirk. "I'm fine with either. Classmates are good to find. But, VILLAINS mean more people to fight!"
"Let's go then!" Blossom declared.
As they raced up the short hill, the girls stopped on top with wide eyes.
"Woah…" they whispered in unison.
The land below was covered in cold ice. The ground was completely frozen, and jagged ice structures and icicles stuck out everywhere. The ice was looking thick and sharp enough to spear someone with little effort.
Suddenly, they heard a new sound. Only this time, it was a voice.
"Momoko! Miyako! Kaoru! OVER HERE!"
The girls looked to see a pair of floating light blue gloves waving. At first, Blossom and Buttercup were confused. But, Bubbles recognized the gloves immediately.
"Hagakure!" Bubbles shouted gleefully.
Quickly, Bubbles bounded across the icy terrain, with her sisters following seconds afterwards. Now that they were closer, they did see that it was the invisible girl classmate they knew. And a short distance away was Todoroki, as he came back towards the rest of his classmates.
"Are you guys okay? We've been looking for you!" Blossom asked, concerned.
Todoroki simply nodded his head, as Hagakure seemed to jump with delight.
"We're alright! We've been wondering where you three were. Where have you guys been?"
Buttercup crossed her arms. "Smoke monster sent us to the Ruins Zone. We got held up there by… a villain, but we got him. We were looking around for the class."
"So were we! But, we ran into some villains instead. We got rid of them though." Hagakure replied, before seemingly looking sheepish, "Or… I guess I should be giving the credit to Todoroki. He froze everyone, heh."
As Blossom glanced at the ice everywhere, her eyes widened.
"Wow! This came from YOU?!" she asked, nonplussed.
"Yes. It was very easy to do so," Todoroki answered calmly, "Which goes to show just how dangerous these villains are."
Bubbles tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
"These aren't Villains we're fighting. They are more like low scale criminals. Thugs who can be easily incapacitated, as proved from the fact that they are being bested by teenagers. The people who orchestrated this attack clearly are of obscurity, and are probably looking to gain public reputation as scary Villains by doing this."
Buttercup put a hand on her chin. "So what you're saying is that these fellas are not a real threat? That explains why they were so easy to bulldoze."
Blossom, meanwhile, looked skeptical. "But, how do you know for sure if they're not dangerous?"
Todoroki simply stuck his hands out in a motionless shrug, gesturing to the trapped villains in the bubbles slowly floating their way, the villains lying unconscious, and the villains trapped in melting ice.
"Do I need to explain?" he asked.
Blossom looked around before sighing and saying, "I guess you're right."
Just then, a booming sound drew the group's attention to the central plaza in the distance.
"I hope the guys taking on Aizawa are just thugs. He seems to be having some trouble there." Hagakure mused, concern in her voice.
Todoroki frowned as he stepped forward. "Since our side is clear, I'm going to go there to help. The quicker we take these villains out, the better our outcome is."
Blossom nodded. "Right. We can go with you."
"Wait, hang on!" Hagakure exclaimed, "You're gonna fight them?! Haven't we done enough fighting? I think we'll be safe over by the USJ entrance. By the looks of it, I think they're safe."
Hagakure then pointed to the entrance, where a few students were. Bubbles looked a little uneasy before speaking.
"I think we should avoid the plaza too. I don't think Mr. Aizawa would like us there. He wants us to stay away from the fighting, remember?" Bubbles pointed out.
Buttercup turned to her, frowning. "Come on, Bubs, you can't chicken out now! We can manage by ourselves, you know that!"
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Buttercup. We gotta help, Bubbles, and this is the way to do it!" Blossom urged.
"We can help, Blossom! I know that. Just, not in this way." Bubbles insisted.
Todoroki started to walk away. "Whatever you guys decide, I don't care either way. I'm going."
As he left, Blossom and Buttercup glanced from him back to Bubbles quickly, alert. But, Bubbles held firm.
"You guys can go, if you want. I'm not stopping you. But, I am staying with Hagakure and we'll go to the entrance together."
"Bubbles–" Buttercup started to groan.
But, Blossom signaled for her to stop. "It's fine, Buttercup." She then turned to Hagakure and Bubbles. "You two stay safe, okay?"
Bubbles nodded. "We will. I'll make sure."
The two sisters stared for a second longer before taking off into the air in a flash of pink and green. Once they left, Bubbles gestured for Hagakure to follow.
"Let's go."
Together the two walked for a few moments before Hagakure said, "Wait… were you guys calling each other 'Blossom', 'Bubbles', and 'Buttercup'?"
Bubbles tensed. In the intensity of everything, their fake names completely slipped their minds. But, she quickly played it off with a way too wide smile.
"Uh… heh, yeah. We called each other that, as nicknames, ever since we were little. It's a habit." she lied.
Thankfully, Hagakure believed it. "Aww, that's so cute!"
Bubbles nodded, before letting out a secret sigh. That was close.
In a few seconds, Blossom and Buttercup reached the central plaza. And along the way, they contemplated the battle ahead and how they would help.
They wished that Bubbles had gone with them. Hagakure too. There was strength in numbers, and the addition of students fighting would really make a difference. But in a way, Bubbles was right. They didn't know what they were walking into. It could be too dangerous, even for a trio of superpowered girls from another world.
Instantly, Blossom thought back to Mojo Jojo's words. TRY AS HARD AS YOU WANT, GIRLS! YOU CAN'T SAVE EVERYONE! AND YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO SAVE YOURSELVES!
These villains, despite what Todoroki said about them, seemed to be more than small-time thugs. What they were planning to do, killing All Might and killing the students, looked like something they were dead set on doing. This doesn't look like a ploy made with the purpose of intimidating the public. They looked like they really were going to fulfill that promise.
And what had to be the most threatening, or at least the most alarming, part to the girls was the fact that the villains had Mojo. When considering his words and what formerly sounded like insipid bragging, it seemed very likely that Mojo shared some intel about the girls. More specifically, how to defeat them.
Dread began to set in. Maybe the girls shouldn't have left Mojo alone. He was the only one who had answers to the questions they had. But, he was in the Ruins Zone, possibly still tied up but possibly free. The girls were powerful, but they weren't omniscient. They had no clue if Mojo Jojo slipped away or not.
Blossom shook her head a little. She shouldn't worry. Even if Mojo did escape, he could be easily stopped when help arrives. And help HAS to arrive, right? Someone will find out sooner or later what's going on.
Suddenly, a tingling sensation hit Blossom like a truck. It was her Danger Sense, and it was screaming at her to move out of the way.
"BUTTERCUP, STOP–" she shouted.
But just before she finished a huge beam of energy came hurtling up from below, right in the trajectory of Buttercup. Before it came close however, Blossom tackled her sister out of the way, saving them both.
Once they recovered, Buttercup looked bewildered and furious.
"Alright, WHO THREW THAT?!" she shouted.
Blossom looked down at the battlefield to see a goon aiming at them with some sort of glowing arm cannon. More started to come up behind him, leering menacingly at the two girls floating above the central plaza.
"Take a wild guess." she answered as she shot back a withering glare.
"Let's BEAT their asses!" Buttercup yelled.
And with that, Buttercup swooped down towards them in a green blur, Blossom following closely behind in a pink blur. Before the thugs could attack them again, the two rammed into them, clearing a space for them to land.
As the villains circled around them, Blossom and Buttercup stood with their backs against each other. Blossom started to rub her hands together so that they became burning hot.
"Okay, Buttercup. Let's do this! IGNITE FORMATION!"
With a wicked grin, Buttercup stuck her hand out towards Blossom's direction. And with incredible strength, Blossom slapped the hand. As they came into contact, both hands started to burn with wildfire, as it spreaded up their arms. It was after that when they pulled away and towards the tide of villains.
Buttercup called up some of her own green fire to mix with the other fire, creating an explosive product that she used to knock over some thugs. Blossom meanwhile focused on making the thugs scatter and trapping them with walls of fire. The whole thing took less than a minute, with most of the goons trapped and some of the tougher ones on the ground with second-degree burns.
Once they were gone, Blossom and Buttercup put the fire out of their hands before high-fiving.
"Nice Ignite Formation, Spice." Blossom complimented.
Buttercup grinned. "Right back at you, Everything Nice."
After that, Blossom looked around. The area around them was surprisingly devoid of thugs.
"Where is everyone?" she asked.
Just then, Buttercup froze after turning around in the opposite direction. She then touched Blossom's shoulder.
"Bloss." she whispered, sounding worried for once as she pointed.
Blossom whirled around and looked in the direction that Buttercup was pointing. In the distance, near the USJ entrance, they could see their teacher, Aizawa.
And they saw him getting beat up by a large and unfathomably scary creature of some sort.
Without a word to spare, Blossom and Buttercup flew closer to the scene. But before fully approaching, Blossom grabbed Buttercup's arm, slowing them both down. As the latter looked at her sister in bewilderment, Blossom shook her head.
"Don't attack yet. We need to know what we're dealing with. Let's hide over there." she whispered.
She then led Buttercup to a small crater nearby, which was probably created due to the effect of a Quirk, and crouched down. With analyzing eyes, Blossom surveyed the scene more closely. And what she ended up seeing completely horrified her.
The monster was way scarier than she had first perceived. Towering above everything, its "face" was not a face but rather a grotesque mouth and two huge bug-like eyes. The top of its head was gone, showing a large brain sticking out. It looked to be extremely muscular, as it knelt over Aizawa and pinned him there.
But what had to be even worse was Aizawa's appearance. He had received a fresh cut flowing with blood. He looked like he was in extreme pain, with his limbs bent the wrong way due to the monster. He didn't look defeated, but he looked close to it.
Finally, Buttercup whispered, "And I thought the Villains back at OUR world were scary. What the fuck is that?!"
Blossom shrugged helplessly, but at that moment, a memory hit her like a hammer.
"And, believe it or not, they specifically wanted me. ME! Apparently they found out what a great scientist I am, and they wanted me to modify their monsters."
The words that Mojo had said had a whole new meaning. Could this monster… be the product of the Villains' and Mojo's combined efforts?! Was this what they were creating and modifying? By the looks of it, they seemed to have made it very strong.
That realization did nothing to put Blossom at ease. If anything it made her want to throw up.
But then, she noticed someone walking over. It was the man with blue hair and hands all over his body. As he walked over, he looked relaxed. Almost… gleeful.
"I have to admit, Aizawa…" he began to say in a raspy voice, "your Quirk is powerful. A formidable one, given the fact that you can cancel others' power with just your eyes. But, despite your clear effort, your power is no match for Nomu's."
Buttercup frowned. "Nomu?"
"That must be the monster…" Blossom whispered, shivering slightly.
Suddenly, they heard a crack, as Nomu grabbed Aizawa's right arm and broke it. It appeared that Aizawa was trying to erase Nomu's Quirk, but the latter didn't seem to be affected at all, as it had broken the arm with ease.
"Why isn't this Nomu guy getting weaker?! Mr. Aizawa's using his power, right?" Buttercup exclaimed, looking on in indignation.
Blossom's eyes widened. "They must've modified Nomu to be… immune to that somehow. Its power seems mostly concentrated in its strength, and I guess that Mr. Aizawa's Quirk doesn't get rid of super strength."
Buttercup narrowed her eyes. "So… Nomu's kind of like All Might?"
At those words, Blossom realized something else. The Villains had talked about killing All Might, but they themselves were easily defeatable. But THEY weren't going to kill All Might. Nomu was.
"Not 'kind of' like him. EXACTLY like him." Blossom answered.
Buttercup was quiet before saying, "Shit. They're really serious. They're really gonna kill All Might."
Blossom was quiet. She and her sisters had not known the Pro Hero for long. But in the short time they were acquainted, All Might had shown them nothing but respect and kindness. And these villains wanted to kill him. The thought of it made Blossom's fingers dig deep into the ground in rage.
"Not if we can help it." she whispered.
At that moment, something spontaneously appeared, catching everyone's eyes. It was a small dark purple speck that suddenly grew into the smoke "monster" that was Kurogiri.
"Tomura. We have a problem."
The man, Tomura, looked at Kurogiri. He looked a little annoyed, probably because Kurogiri interrupted something.
"What is it, Kurogiri?" he snapped.
Kurogiri looked a little uneasy before saying, "Back at the exit, I was able to incapacitate the Pro Hero guarding the class. She tried to fight but ultimately, I put her out of commission."
Blossom's heart dropped. No! Thirteen!
"But, during the fight…" Kurogiri continued, "One of the students was able to get past me with the help of a few others. He escaped and is going back to UA High to call for backup."
Almost immediately, Blossom felt hope in her chest. They had a chance! Thanks to their classmates, someone was getting help. Maybe they could win this in the end!
And, it seemed like Tomura realized that too. Weirdly, his hands immediately flew up to the pale flaky skin of his neck and started to scratch it furiously.
"No… NO! You FOOL! You let one of them get away?! Now the Pro Heroes are going to come here and skin us alive. I swear, I'd KILL you if it weren't for your stupid Quirk!"
But as it looked like Tomura was about to have a meltdown, he strangely calmed down faster than he flared up.
"... You know what? It's fine. That's fine. Well, since the Pro Heroes are coming in great numbers, it's clear that we need to retreat and regroup. We'll get our opportunity to kill All Might sooner or later."
With that, Tomura turned around and walked away from Nomu and Aizawa, the former of which lessened its hold slightly on Aizawa. As the two walked away, Buttercup seemed to collapse in relief.
"I KNEW it!" Buttercup rejoiced, "I knew that these wimps weren't worth our time! Just the idea of Heroes coming to help scared them off. I guess that's the end of that, huh Bloss?"
Blossom, however, was not as relieved, as she frowned.
"Wait. Something seems… wrong. I don't think they're going to leave this easily. Not after they dedicated themselves to killing us." Blossom mused, still tense.
Buttercup realized that and looked uneasy for a second before dismissing it with a shake of her head.
"Maybe they realized that they had done enough of making a statement. I mean, they got Mr. Aizawa. That seems like a grave enough warning, right?" Buttercup said, even though her voice seemed uncertain.
Suddenly, Tomura stopped in his tracks, drawing the attention of the two girls and Kurogiri, who slowed as well.
"Tomura?" Kurogiri asked, clearly surprised by the sudden stop of movement.
Tomura was quiet for a while before saying, "Actually… the more I think of it, the more I believe that we're letting the Heroes off too easily. All Might DESERVES to have his stupid pride injured."
At this, he turned his head to look at the edge of the central plaza. And standing right there were three people that Blossom and Buttercup didn't see at all.
"Wait… that's Izuku and Asui!" Blossom gasped in shock.
"And Mineta too! What the hell are they doing here?!" Buttercup added, getting up a little from her crouched position.
But Blossom was more worried at the fact that Tomura was starting to go towards them.
"A dead student or two will do JUST THE THING!" he shouted.
After that, it seemed like things moved in slow motion. Tomura lunging for Tsuyu, everyone staring in terror and shock, and Aizawa shouting for her to move. But as he reached a hand towards her mortified face, Tomura looked like he was very close to killing her.
That is until a blue flash comes out of nowhere, and Tomura is thrown to the side.
Bubbles had no plan of interfering. Mr. Aizawa had told the class to stay away when he went to fight the Villains. That, combined with the belief that they would make things worse, made Bubbles stay away from the fighting, no matter how much she wanted to give those Villains hell for messing with her friends.
Her goal was to get herself and Hagakure back to the exit. But, as they approached the central plaza, they realized that the entrance to the stairs were being blocked by Aizawa's battle with the Villains.
A battle which he seems to be losing.
With still a ways to go to the actual plaza, the two stopped in their tracks, as they witnessed a large monster beating up Aizawa. Once the weight of the situation sunk in, Hagakure gasped.
"Oh no… They're attacking him! And they're blocking the exit too! Oh man, what do we do?!"
Bubbles barely heard the concerned proclamation, as she stared teary-eyed with fear and despair at the towering monster. She couldn't let this slide. She SHOULDN'T let it slide.
Coming to a decision in her head, Bubbles started to walk forward with more determination, surprising Hagakure.
"Wait, Miyako! Where are you going?"
Bubbles turned to her with serious eyes. "To help. My sisters and Shoto were right! We have to help out! It's the only way."
Hagakure was quiet before seemingly nodding. "You're right. I'm with you. But, what can we do?"
Bubbles pushed off the ground slightly, so that she was levitating.
"Go and check if Todoroki and my sisters have arrived yet! I'll take on the monster!" she instructed.
Hagakure let out an 'eep'. "By yourself? What if you get hurt–"
"Don't worry about me." Bubbles interrupted, already facing forward with a glare, "I can handle it."
Without waiting for a reply from Hagakure, Bubbles flew towards the plaza quickly, gritting her teeth. As she approached the scene however, she saw something.
She saw a man with blue hair and hands over his body lunging for one of her classmates. Her friend, Tsuyu.
Bubbles was best friends with the Frog girl, one of the first friends she made. And the calm yet joyful girl she knew looked horrified, as the man lunged for her. The two others, Izuku and Mineta, looked equally terrified, as it was clear that the man was coming for them next after he finished with Tsuyu.
Bubbles can't let that happen. She won't stand for it.
That was why instead of slowing, she doubled her speed, jetting her straight into the man's side and throwing him off his trajectory. The two rolled over each other until Bubbles was on top, pinning the man down with one hand, exerting her superstrength.
"DON'T HURT MY FRIENDS!"
The others looked at them in shock, not expecting the sudden entrance at all.
"Miyako!" Izuku exclaimed.
Blossom and Buttercup stood up in the crater with wide eyes, as Bubbles looked around with a relieved look in her eyes.
That is, until Tomura seized her wrist with his hand.
The motion provoked terrified gasps and screams from the surrounding students, prompting Bubbles to look back at Tomura with wide eyes. The large hand on his face was slightly crooked from the impact of falling to the ground, revealing a furious red eye.
"Miyako, is it? I remember YOU… You're part of the 'wonder girls' everyone has talked about. These stupid Heroes… putting a KID on the battlefield!"
His fingernails digged harder into her skin, sending waves of nausea through Bubbles. One single splintered crack ran down her wrist to her pointer finger, drawing blood to the surface. Bubbles took that as a sign to shove Tomura off her and jump back.
Immediately, Bubbles looked at her injured wrist, only to realize that apart from the tiny crack in her skin and the fact that the skin on her wrist was a little gray, most of it remained unharmed.
"Miyako, watch out! He has a Quirk that can disintegrate anything he touches!" Tsuyu shouted.
Bubbles continued to look at her wrist, speechless. Then how come it didn't affect me all that much?
Just then, Tomura sprang at Bubbles again, to her shock. Quickly, she jumped out of the way while charging up and throwing a blue energy ball. Tomura easily dodged that before lunging at Bubbles and taking her down.
Now Bubbles was the one on the ground, as Tomura kept her there with a knee. His hand was mere inches away from her face, the only thing stopping him from touching her being her own hands on his wrist, forcing the hand back.
"I'll hand it to you, little girl. You're strong. But, like your stupid teacher, you're not strong enough. Maybe your death will convince your sisters to drop the Hero gig and spare them your fate."
Bubbles looked up with terror as she loses her grip on his hand, and his hand grabs her face. Bubbles wrenched her eyes shut, expecting the worst. But, as some seconds go by, nothing happens.
"What?!" Tomura exclaimed in fury as he released her and looked at his hand.
Just then, a movement catches their eyes, as they look at Aizawa, who was looking up with some difficulty and glaring fiercely, with glinting red eyes. It wasn't hard to piece together what happened. Aizawa had been able to look up at Tomura and cancel the Quirk at the last minute, saving Bubbles's life in the process.
"Leave… my students… ALONE!" Aizawa shouted bravely.
And it was in that moment where all three girls felt a sense of endearment towards their teacher that they haven't felt with anybody except the Professor.
But the moment of happiness ended swiftly, as his head was slammed down quickly by Nomu, prompting screams out of the girls and their friends.
"Quick thinking, Aizawa, using your Quirk like that. I'll give you that." Tomura mocked as he looked over, "But, still take heed that Nomu can easily kill you when I give the word."
Suddenly, two girls jumped up from behind Nomu, taking the latter by surprise.
"NOT ANYMORE!" Blossom and Buttercup shouted in unison.
Simultaneously, they aimed a punch at its back, forcing Nomu to fall off the Pro Hero. Blossom and Buttercup then fell to the ground on their feet, in fighting positions.
After a few seconds, Nomu turned to face the girls, and to their shock, it looked like it was unhurt. Which was very surprising, given how strong Blossom's and Buttercup's combined punch was.
Bubbles looked over in fear as Tomura shook his head in mock shame.
"Girls, girls, girls. When will you learn that Nomu is not at your level, but way ahead of it? Your punches won't harm it, not with its shock absorption. Our little monkey friend figured you would try to stop it with punches. Guess he was right."
At that, the girls tensed. Mojo. He WAS responsible for this. Meanwhile, Tomura was done talking as he swooped down on Bubbles again, the latter screaming. But at that moment, someone jumped into action and it wasn't the girls. It was Izuku.
"SMASH!" he shouted as he aimed a punch right at Tomura.
The impact of the punch connecting sent dust flying everywhere, the force sending strong winds in every direction. And as the dust cleared, it appeared that the punch hadn't gotten Tomura. It had hit Nomu, who jumped in the way at the last second.
Just like Blossom's and Buttercup's punches, Nomu was completely uninjured from the attack. As it grabbed the terrified boy and Tomura went back to trying to attack Bubbles, it seemed like all hope was lost.
That is, until a loud and uplifting voice echoed across the entirety of USJ.
"HAVE NO FEAR! FOR I AM HERE!"
All Might had known something was off. He knew that when Aizawa and Thirteen didn't answer his calls, and he knew when things had been unusually quiet on their end. Something was going on at USJ, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what.
That is, until he decided he had enough and made his way over to the place. And halfway there, he ran into Tenya Iida, a student of Class 1-A.
At first, All Might was rightfully confused. Why did Iida run all the way over here? And why did he look so terrified and hysterical? But it was after a short moment of composing himself when Iida told All Might what was going on at the USJ.
And when he heard the news, All Might was angry. VERY VERY angry.
Which is why, after urging Iida to go back to UA and get more Heroes for backup, All Might marched the rest of the way there and bursted through the USJ entrance. And things were a mess. A few students were cowering with an injured Thirteen, becoming happy once laying their eyes on All Might. Some students were scattered who knew where in the USJ, completely vulnerable. And a few were at the central plaza, fighting the big enemy.
And some of the few happened to be those three little girls who he had first met and saved from the Sludge Incident.
After announcing that he was here to help, All Might wasted no time in making his way to the central plaza. Some villains noticed and upon laying eyes on the number 1 Pro Hero himself, they panicked. Which made it all the more easier for All Might to incapacitate them.
He then took care of some goons who were starting to swoop down on Aizawa, who was already unconscious from his injuries. When seeing the teacher, All Might took a moment to apologize for everything, despite Aizawa not hearing him, before turning his attention to Tomura.
Using his super speed, he threw Tomura off Bubbles, who sat up with relief and awe. Tomura, meanwhile, clattered to the ground a few feet away, completely losing the hand that covered his face. Once he was off, All Might offered a hand to Bubbles.
"Young Miyako! Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" he asked.
Bubbles shook her head as she took the hand and stood up. "I'm okay. I'm so glad you came, All Might!"
Once she was up, her sisters ran to her, enveloping her in a hug, while All Might used his super speed again to free Izuku from Nomu's grasp, throwing the creature a few feet away like Tomura.
"And are you alright, Midoriya?" All Might asked.
After kneeling on the ground and catching his breath for a few seconds, Izuku got up. "I'm fine."
After that, the girls rushed over to him, as well as Tsuyu and Mineta.
"That was a close one! I'm glad you guys are okay!" Blossom exclaimed.
"Us too! You guys saved our lives! Ribbit!" Tsuyu exclaimed before turning to Bubbles, "I'd like to thank you specially, Miyako. If you didn't come in at the time you did, I would have been dead. Thank you."
Bubbles smiled wide. "Don't sweat it! That's what friends are for!"
"And thanks for trying to save our sister, Midoriya. That took GUTS!" Buttercup remarked with a wide grin.
Izuku rubbed the back of his head, sheepish. "I appreciate that. But, I should be thanking you girls for showing up to the fight just in time!"
As the group celebrated though, All Might watched Tomura (he was quickly grabbing his mask and putting it back on his face) and Nomu get up, to his despair. He then turned to the group urgently.
"I'm glad that you guys are safe. But, the longer you stay here the more likely one of you will end up seriously hurt. I need you all to take Mr. Aizawa and leave towards the exit. Your class is waiting for you there."
The group looked uneasy, especially the girls.
"But, you need help! You're outnumbered! My sisters and I can stay. We'll whoop their butts!" Buttercup exclaimed.
All Might smiled a small one this time. "While I appreciate your enthusiasm, young Kaoru, it's simply way too dangerous. I'll be fine on my own, and I have everything under control. Leave and stay as safe as you can!"
Without waiting for a response, All Might turned around and sprang towards Tomura, readying one of his moves.
"CAROLINA SMASH!"
But before the attack reached Tomura, Nomu jumped in the way of him again, taking the blow instead. A bit shocked by the sudden block, All Might frowned harder in determination, aiming some punches at Nomu.
After two punches, however, All Might retreated, his confusion growing. Nomu looked completely unaffected by the clearly serious-injury-inducing punches. And, as it charged at All Might, it looked like it wasn't hurt in the slightest.
Quickly, All Might evaded the punch and counterattacked with more punches, while Tomura laughed maniacally from the sidelines.
"You fool! Can't you see!? Your punches will NEVER work with Nomu's Shock Absorption. You can't hurt it that way. You have a better chance of defeating it if it lets you gouge out its flesh!"
All Might backed away from Nomu a little before flashing Tomura a grin.
"Thank you for the advice! Now, you just revealed this guy's weakness!"
Tomura looked a little bewildered before shaking his head, a noticeable smirk on his face. But, All Might didn't notice as he grabbed the waist of Nomu before pulling off a suplex move, creating a large shockwave.
Elsewhere, heading towards the exit was the group, Aizawa in their clutches. The slowest of the group happened to be the girls, as they were waiting for their opportunity to jump in if needed.
So, they ended up seeing All Might's suplex move.
"Aw yeah!" Buttercup shouted in glee, "He's BEATING Nomu's ass! I knew he would come out on top in the end!"
Blossom looked on in worry. "I wouldn't speak so soon. I hope that's the case, but something tells me Nomu's not done after that."
Mineta scoffed. "All you girls do is worry. Relax. Kaoru's right! Mr. Big Guy's done for!"
"But I do think Momoko has a point. Ribbit." Tsuyu replied, worried as well, "You've seen how much Nomu can take. All Might's gonna have a hard time, that's for sure."
It was around that time that the dust from the shockwave settled, revealing a terrified sight. All Might had Nomu on the ground, but something purple was making the floor beneath them sink like quicksand. At first, the sight looked unnatural. But then, Bubbles came to a realization.
"It's Kurogiri…" she whispered.
The group turned to her, confused, as Bubbles pointed with wide eyes.
"Kurogiri's warping Nomu and All Might!" she exclaimed.
Buttercup frowned. "Why the hell would he do that?!"
Just then, as if answering her question, Nomu's upper half emerged from the portal right underneath a bent over All Might, and seized his upper half, burying its claws into his body.
"I see what you're trying to do, All Might," Tomura taunted as he observed the scene, "But, your little plan to bury Nomu into the concrete won't work the same way someone burying YOU into concrete won't work. Face it. Nomu's just like you in terms of strength. It's your counterpart. It was MADE that way."
At those words, All Might released Nomu's lower half and started to pull at Nomu's hands, struggling to free himself. But the more he struggled, the more it appeared that he wasn't going to free himself.
That was the final straw for the girls. No more standing by. It was time to jump in.
"Izuku, Asui, Mineta!" Blossom said firmly, looking back at them, "Take Mr. Aizawa to the exit. We're staying."
"Wait… you can't go and help! It's too dangerous! Ribbit!" Tsuyu exclaimed with concern.
Buttercup grinned as she stepped forward, away from the group. "Oh, please. Danger's my middle name."
"We can handle it, Tsuyu. Trust us!" Bubbles reassured her, "We know how to take care of it. Just go to the exit, and we'll meet you there after helping All Might!"
Before any of the three could react, the girls blasted away with their tricolored energy trails. After watching them leave to go fight, Izuku frowned with determination.
"You guys go, then, and take care of Mr. Aizawa. I'm helping!"
At this point, Tsuyu looked mildly annoyed. "You can't, Midoriya–"
But before she finished, Izuku was running after the three colored trails. As Tsuyu and Mineta watched, Mineta threw up his arms in exasperation.
"Well, pardon us! WE'RE not to blame if either of you get KILLED!"
Tsuyu sighed. "Hopefully, they don't get killed. I don't want 4 dead friends. Come on, Mineta, let's go."
In a rainbow blur, the three girls came closer and closer to the scene. Once they got close enough, Blossom shouted an order to her sisters.
"SEPARATE AND WEAVE!"
"Roger!" Bubbles and Buttercup confirmed in unison.
With that, the once singular trail separated into three, as all three went in different directions and swarmed All Might and Kurogiri. As he witnessed the sight, Tomura gritted his teeth.
"Kurogiri!" he shouted in annoyance.
Knowing what order Tomura was about to give, Kurogiri rose in front of All Might and Nomu, his yellow eyes tracking the swarming girls, who were distracting Nomu.
"On it." he said, preparing to make a warp portal for them.
Just then, he heard a shout. "NO!"
Kurogiri whirled around to see Izuku approaching fast. Completely forgetting the girls, Kurogiri prepared a portal to send Izuku away.
But that was when a blast of sudden fire knocked Kurogiri off balance and completely stopped all portals, including the one underneath Nomu and All Might.
Once the smoke Villain was down, a newly arrived Bakugou pinned him to the ground. Around that time, Kirishima arrived and sprung towards Tomura, who dodged the sudden attack. And what's more, Todoroki arrived just in time to freeze Nomu, or at least half of it.
Slowly the three girls stopped swarming and floated in midair, watching what happened in shock.
"It's Bakugou and Kirishima! Todoroki too! They came to help!" Bubbles squealed.
Buttercup crossed her arms with a raised eyebrow. "Hmph. They didn't NEED to. We had it handled."
Tomura, of course, was furious. "KUROGIRI, YOU IDIOT! You let a STUDENT capture you?!"
Bakugou looked up with a malicious grin. "I figured out your secret, you stupid Villain! This guy isn't all smoke. He uses the mist to hide his skimpy body underneath! Too bad the neck armor's so easy to see. Otherwise I would've never found out."
Kurogiri squirmed in his grasp, but that only made Bakugou push down on him harder.
"STOP MOVING, YOU! BEFORE I BLOW YOU UP AND SEND YOU TO HELL!" he shouted.
Kirishima looked shocked at the outburst. "Bakugou! How can you say that? A true Hero shouldn't attack a Villain with death threats!"
Buttercup scoffed. "I know right. Some kind of Hero he is!"
Blossom looked at her sister in annoyance. "You do the same thing too!"
"UH, YEAH?! BECAUSE I MEAN THEM!" Buttercup blustered.
Tomura gritted his teeth in irritation before seemingly calming down.
"I commend you on your efforts, weaklings. Truly. But, I had enough of playing around. Nomu, free Kurogiri."
With a nod, Nomu pulled away from the ice, breaking the ice in the process and losing almost all of its right side. But, to everyone's shock, muscles grew out of the limbs, restoring Nomu to its original appearance.
"What… the… f-" Buttercup whispered.
"It's growing back EVERYTHING?!" Bubbles gasped.
Tomura nodded his head. "Precisely. You don't think that we wouldn't put backup Quirks in case any of you got a drop on Nomu, do you? Nomu's always a step ahead, especially with its Super Regeneration. It's modified to take down All Might, even at 100%!"
With Nomu fully healed, it then charged at Bakugou. But before getting close, the girls, not wasting a second, flew after Nomu and threw it back from the two. The girls then landed in front of Bakugou and Kurogiri, only focused on Nomu.
"Alright, girls, it's showtime. DISARM FORMATION, LET'S GO!" Blossom ordered.
After that, the girls blasted after Nomu, who got up and let out a threatening roar. Quickly, Blossom inhaled and let out her Ice Breath, freezing Nomu to the ground once again.
Once it was immobilized, Bubbles landed, took a deep breath, and screamed. Her sonic voice came out in shockwaves, making Nomu clutch its ears. With Nomu defenseless, Buttercup ran towards it in a green blur before dishing out an uppercut.
But as Nomu reeled back, its eyes snapped open, trained on Buttercup. It then seized Buttercup's wrist before she could fall to the ground, to her shock and fury. As Nomu grabbed her more securely, Buttercup's eyes glowed red and she let out a barrage of laser beams at Nomu, who moved its head out of the way, making the red lights hit the ceiling of the USJ.
Blossom and Bubbles then came up behind Nomu and pulled its head back together. As a result, Nomu released Buttercup, reaching its hands back to seize Blossom and Bubbles. Buttercup flew up higher so that she was hovering above Nomu's chest as he bent over to catch the evading pair.
Buttercup then stuck her hand out with her fingers in a gun shape, as green energy swarmed it. She aimed it straight at Nomu's chest, grinning.
"End of the line for you, Nomu!"
But before she could release the energy blast, something came hurtling in her direction and took her down. Not expecting the sudden attack on Buttercup, Blossom and Bubbles let go, dodging Nomu's grasp. They looked at Buttercup, now on the ground, as a certain monkey pinned her down.
"NOT YOU AGAIN! JUST QUIT IT AT THIS POINT!" Buttercup shouted in rage.
Mojo Jojo didn't look happy either. If anything, he looked furious.
"No way am I going to let you BRATS destroy my life's work! Who do you think I am?!"
Just then, Mojo suddenly got pushed off with a surprised scream. It was Todoroki, as he looked over at Buttercup and extended a hand, which Buttercup quickly took.
"Mind telling me who your little friend is?" he asked as she stood up.
Buttercup looked at a reeling Mojo before sighing. "He was the villain we were fighting back at the Ruins Zone. His name is Mojo Jojo. A real piece of shit."
Kirishima then came up next to Todoroki. "Then we'll deal with him. You and your sisters keep on fighting Nomu. You might have a chance!"
Buttercup looked surprised at first before looking grateful. "Thanks!"
With that, Buttercup ran back to her sisters and Nomu, while Todoroki and Kirishima tensed.
"Alright, Jojo Momo. You've done enough!" Kirishima shouted heroically.
Mojo got up, one of his eyes twitching. "For the love of God… it's MOJO JOJO, YOU IMBECILES!"
As he charged at them with his rocket boots and fought the two classmates, Buttercup joined the two sisters, who were watching Nomu break free from the ice and regenerate his feet.
"What's the deal?" Buttercup asked Blossom and Bubbles.
Bubbles looked extremely irritated. "Because of Mojo, we got too distracted. Nomu's recovering from our attacks, and we can't stop him!"
"We need something stronger, then!" Buttercup exclaimed, glaring.
Blossom nodded. "That's what I'm thinking."
"If that's the case, let's finish this!" Bubbles shouted bravely.
As Nomu charged at the girls, they came together. Bubbles and Buttercup both put a firm hand on Blossom's shoulder, their hands glowing blue and green respectively. The two colored energies snaked down Blossom's arms as she put her hands together, making a pink energy ball.
Quickly, the green and blue energies mixed with the pink, creating a large, buzzing, and multicolored ball. After it was charged, Bubbles and Buttercup swiftly let go of Blossom, allowing Blossom to race towards Nomu and transfer the energy to her hands. As she jumped up to Nomu's level, she glared and put her hands together to make an "x" shape.
"LET'S DO THIS! BLITZ FORMATION… X FORM!"
After shouting that, Blossom slashed hard at Nomu, a glowing white X materializing before Nomu got blasted away, dust kicking up and clouding the scene. Blossom jumped to the ground, bright-eyed at the fact that the attack worked.
As the dust cleared, that confirmed it. Nomu was kneeling, looking quite ruffled, as an X shaped scar appeared on its chest. Only, it wasn't going away. And everyone noticed that, as they looked on in shock.
"Would you look at that…" All Might whispered.
Bakugou frowned with annoyance and surprise, even letting go of Kurogiri in the process. "How the fuck did they DO that?"
Izuku came up beside him, wide-eyed. "I don't know…"
Tomura was also someone who noticed Nomu's sudden idleness, to his indignation.
"You're not gonna TAKE THAT, are you?!" Tomura shouted angrily at the creature, "HURRY UP AND HEAL, YOU USELESS LUG!"
Blossom crossed her arms and this time, she was the one who was smirking.
"It can't." she said simply, "You know… you've mentioned that Nomu can survive physical attacks. And clearly, it turns out you're quite right. So, it's natural that we rely on another type of attack. Tell me, does Nomu's miraculous Super Regeneration protect it from energy-based attacks?"
Of course not. It was obvious. It had only been a theory Blossom was developing when she and her sisters did the Disarm Formation. But, the "Blitz" attack had confirmed it. Nomu was weaker to energy attacks than he was to physical attacks.
And the clear change of Tomura's expression from anger to dreaded shock more than proved it.
"You… YOU–"
Without sparing another second, Blossom ran towards Nomu as her sisters cheered her on. She still had some remnants of Blitz energy inside her, so she called it up to boost her speed and energy attacks. Then, she started dishing out rapid energy attacks on Nomu, which slowly but surely weakened him.
She knew deep down that she did not have enough energy to take down Nomu entirely. And she couldn't get more since the Blitz Formation was a last resort one-time move, as it drained her sisters of their energy. But, that's why they have a Number One Pro Hero on their side, who Buttercup and Bubbles ran to and told their plan.
With a wide grin, All Might stood up while thanking the pair for their help. He then started to approach, as Blossom fought Nomu.
Occasionally, Kurogiri, who was now free, started to reach some of the purple mist towards her to warp her away. Blossom, fortunately, was able to neutralize it before it got close. But the bad news was that she couldn't keep up this rhythm for long: wearing Nomu down while simultaneously keeping Tomura and Kurogiri back.
And eventually, it became too much to bear when Blossom got too distracted with keeping the two Villains back, allowing Nomu to seize her.
"NO!" her sisters shouted, as worried gasps from their classmates accompanied it.
Tomura meanwhile stalked freely towards the pair.
"ENOUGH! I've had it with you!" Tomura shouted almost crazily.
Blossom flinched slightly at the outburst, but Tomura wasn't done as he chuckled slowly.
"Ridiculous, isn't it? Hm? You Heroes do nothing but fight. Fight, fight, fight. The supposed 'good' guys always resort to violence, and society glorifies them. But, when a 'bad' guy does it for the greater good of the world, they're 'Villains'. Blights of society. Society categorizes violence as either good or bad, when it's all… VIOLENCE."
Tomura stopped walking, pausing before looking at All Might with a sneer.
"And the 'most powerful' Hero of them all. The great 'Symbol of Peace'... that title means ANYTHING but peace. The title's nothing more than an oppressive force of glorified violence. And, what does the Pro Hero do with this title? Use it to incite more violence, to the point where… little KIDS are risking their lives for the greater good."
All Might glared in indignation at the accusatory words. "The words you're saying right now are PREPOSTEROUS! Heroes don't use violence because they want to. They use it for the greater good! Villains use violence for their own needs! That is the TRUE difference between good and evil, Tomura. And, seeing as you are about to let your science experiment KILL a little child, that further proves that you use violence for your amusement."
Tomura narrowed his eyes. "Bluff all you want, All Might! But, you can't deny the truth. I see right through your fake smiles and bold lies. Face it… I figured you out."
Around them, students started to swarm around All Might. Todoroki and Kirishima abandoned Mojo, who was trapped in a large block of ice and squirming helplessly. Bakugou and Izuku stood beside All Might, looking furious and ready to attack. And, Bubbles and Buttercup floated in midair, ready to back up their trapped sister if necessary.
"It's okay, All Might. We'll help you finish this! We outnumber them!" Izuku exclaimed.
All Might shook his head, to the shock of the students.
"Go. It's not safe for any of you. Even you, girls." he said, glancing at Bubbles and Buttercup, "Leave this place, and I'll free Momoko as well as take care of the villains."
Buttercup wasn't having it. "Are you nuts?! We got them on the ropes! And you're injured too! We're gonna help you!"
"Kaoru's right. You need our help, and we're going to give it." Todoroki agreed with a nod.
"Come on, All Might! Let us handle this!" Izuku begged.
Suddenly, All Might tore from the group, taking them by surprise. As they tried to follow, the force of All Might's lunge sent everyone stumbling back a few feet. He then headed right towards Nomu, who still kept a hold on Blossom. As Blossom and All Might catch each other's eye, All Might shouts.
"On my mark, Momoko! Use your strength and break free!" he shouted.
With wide eyes, Blossom frowned and nodded before looking down and thrusting her hands onto Nomu's, which were wrapped around her midriff. As All Might ran, he started to speak to Tomura.
"If what you say is true, Tomura, and Nomu can resist me at 100%, then I must go beyond my limits! I must go PLUS ULTRA!"
Tomura, catching on, quickly shouted at Kurogiri to stop him. But it was too late. All Might was coming in hot, and was pumped up with power.
"NOW!" he shouted to Blossom.
Quickly, Blossom pried Nomu's hands apart in one rushed motion, sending Nomu's arms flying out to its sides and allowing Blossom to plant her feet on it and push off, flying away in a pink blur and leaving Nomu open for All Might.
"I admit it! I'm not as strong as I used to be!" All Might declared as he got closer, "But, I have the fight left in me. One for All will ALWAYS give me true power. And with Plus Ultra, I shall go beyond and push my limits!"
At those words, he stopped, sticking a hand up into the air before clutching it into a fist. He then pulled back, charging up the attack while shouting.
"TEXAS SMASH!"
Finally, All Might hits Nomu head on with a forceful punch, right in the middle of the X scar Blossom gave it. For a second, after the fist makes contact, Nomu's body contracts with explosive pressure. Suddenly, Nomu went flying, rocketing through the air and right through the dome ceiling, creating another explosion.
After the wind died down from the punch, the students opened their eyes. And slowly, after seeing the sight, they cheered. It had finally happened. Nomu was defeated.
"No… no. NO!" Tomura shouted in rage.
All Might lets his hand drop, standing still. As he pants heavily from the exertion, Blossom noticed that he was barely moving, which made her stop cheering.
"Wait… why isn't All Might moving?" she asked.
Slowly, other students noticed that. As most looked confused, Izuku looked like he had seen a ghost. He then mouthed something to himself that nobody noticed. Except for Blossom.
His limit…
Blossom frowned at this. Limit? What limit? Perhaps she mistook what he said, considering that he wasn't whispering and was just mouthing.
"It's the end of the line for you, Tomura. You lost." All Might declared, locking his fearsome eyes on the villain.
Once again, Tomura did that weird thing, where his hands went up to his neck and scratched vigorously.
"No, no, NO! It's all wrong. I was wrong. All Might is still as strong as he always was! Oh, we're doomed. DOOMED!" he wailed.
Buttercup smirked at the sight. "HAH! That's what the son of a bitch gets."
Todoroki nodded before looking back at the stairs. "It seems like our job here is done. All Might can take care of everything from here on out. Let's go and meet our class."
"Agreed." Kirishima sighed.
As the group was starting to walk away though, Izuku stayed, which drew the eye of Blossom.
"Izuku. Aren't you coming?" she asked, prompting the others to slow down.
He didn't answer the question, as he kept staring at All Might and the villains. Mojo was off to the side, frozen and trapped, as he shouted.
"Hello?! Mojo Jojo speaking. I'm still here and I'm trapped! H-HELLO?!" he shouted.
Meanwhile, Kurogiri came up beside Tomura and by the looks of his face, was starting to realize something.
"Don't lose hope yet, Tomura. It appears that All Might was weakened from Nomu's attacks. That punch may have taken the last of his energy. And, the underlings, as I've seen, are beginning to recover from the attacks. The Pro Heroes also have yet to show up. We still have a chance if we attack now."
Tomura mulled over the words, making All Might pale. Then slowly, Tomura grinned.
"YOU'RE RIGHT!"
And so together, Kurogiri and Tomura sprung towards the defenseless Symbol of Peace. As students looked on with shock, panic appeared on Izuku's face. And suddenly, in an act of desperation, Izuku used his Quirk to blast away from his spot, putting himself right between All Might and the villains.
With his legs broken, Izuku aimed a punch right at Kurogiri's weak spot, his neck brace. But, predicting the attack, Kurogiri makes a portal for Tomura to stick his hand through, making it appear right in front of Izuku's face. Additionally, Mojo broke free of his ice prison in that second and started to make his way over too, right towards All Might.
"You GOTTA be kidding!" Blossom sighed exasperatedly.
This caused Blossom to fly away from her spot in an effort to throw Mojo aside. As this all happened, it seemed like things were done for the good guys.
That is, until two bullets rang out. One hit Tomura's hand, while the other grazed Mojo's helmet, making him duck in terror. As Blossom skidded to a stop, she looked confused.
What just happened?
Suddenly, she heard Bubbles squeal madly with delight as she hopped and pointed at the entrance.
"LOOK! LOOK! I see Iida coming into the USJ! And… OH MY GOD! HE BROUGHT PRO HEROES!"
Sure enough, a tide of people decked out in flashy outfits made their way into the building. And they were readying several attacks, as villains everywhere cowered in fear. It was true. After all this time, the fight was finally over for the bad guys.
Help had arrived just in time.